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Agarthic: The Inner Side
Agarthic - The Inner Side Album Art

Agarthic: The Inner Side

Symphonic/Melodic/Heavy Metal
4.0/5.0

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Frontiers Music
Words: Craig Hartranft
Added: 08.12.2021 | Released: 10.12.2021

Formed a mere two years ago, Agarthic is a new symphonic metal band hailing from the region of Northern Italy. A symphonic metal band from Italy, did you say? What a surprise? That's novel. But cutting through my sarcastic incredulity, Agarthic was founded by and features composer and bassist Mattia Gosetti and vocalist Valeriano De Zordo, long time friends who have worked on various musical projects. The Inner Side is Agarthic's debut long-player for Frontiers Music and produced by Aldo Lonobile (Secret Sphere, Archon Angel, Timo Tolkki’s Avalon, etc.), who also has a guitar solo within Negotiations Failed (which also features Fabio Lione).

Agarthic - Click For Larger Image

Agarthic

Agarthic, the band name, refers to Argatha, the legendary kingdom mythically suggested to be found in the Earth's core. This follows from De Zordo's interest in telling stories, those of myth and legend, and his fascination with hollow earth theory. (Most literate readers know of one story associated with this idea: Jules Verne's Journey To The Center Of The Earth). While this legend is scientifically preposterous, I enjoy stories involving the mixture of sci-fi and fantasy. Which makes me add, I wish I would have had the lyrics to the album; they would have proved interesting. (But this is a common problem for all promos from labels, including Frontiers.)

Nevertheless, Agarthic's The Inner Side is simply classic melodic symphonic metal, which requires no explanation. Ergo, only a few observations are required. First, as symphonic metal (from Italy) goes, Agarthic is likely as epic as most, but not quite as bombastic as peers such as Rhapsody Of Fire (RoF). Put in that company, Agarthic really isn't reinventing the synth-metal wheel. (For that matter, RoF was retreading the wheel with Glory For Salvation which was merely a rubber stamp of The Eighth Mountain with average results.) What Agarthic has going for them is simply this: very listeneable symphonic metal. In other words, they know the formula and they massage the fuck out of it with enjoyable results. At first I was a bit unsure of De Zordo's vocals, but in the end his talent convinced me that his voice is an integral part of the song arrangements, if only because he can advance and support the song melody. Whittling down to best common denominator: I enjoyed Agarthic's well-crafted, yet expected, symphonic metal, and I think my readers and fans of the genre will feel the same way. Recommended.




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The Take Away

Breakout your tie-dye shirts and bell-bottoms and rock out classic heavy rock style with Land Of Gypsies. Recommended.

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